Representations of the Self in Social Phobia: Vulnerability to Social Threat

Authors

Debra A. Hope, State University of New York at AlbanyFollow
Ronald M. Rapee, State University of New York at AlbanyFollow
Richard G. Heimberg, State University of New York at AlbanyFollow
Mark J. Dombeck, State University of New York at Albany

ORCID IDs

Debra A. Hope

Date of this Version

4-1990

Citation

Cognitive Therapy and Research 14:2 (April 1990), pp. 177–189.

doi: 10.1007/BF01176208

Comments

Copyright © 1990 Plenum Publishing Corporation/Kluwer. Used by permission.

Abstract

A revised Stroop color-naming task was used to test hypotheses derived from Beck’s cognitive theory of anxiety disorders which proposes that social phobics are hypervigilant to social-evaluative threat cues. Color-naming latencies for social and physical threat words were compared to matched neutral words for both social phobics and individuals with panic disorder. As predicted, social phobics showed longer latencies for social threat words, and panickers had longer latencies for physical threat words. Latency for color-naming social threat words correlated with self-reported avoidance among social phobics. These results are consistent with Beck’s notion of self-schemata which facilitate the processing of threat cues. Methodological issues and clinical implications are discussed.